Record loss
Most of this locality's early records are gone. A fire that spread from a nearby store destroyed the records in April 1885, and a 1977 flood badly damaged many later ones.
Before you give up, try these:
- The Library of Virginia's Lost Records Localities Digital Collection: copies of deeds, wills and other records from this place that turned up as evidence in other courts' files.
- Land tax and personal property tax books, which begin in 1782. Copies went to the state, so they often survived when the courthouse records didn't.
- The records of the parent counties and neighboring counties, where families often bought land, went to court or married.
- Chancery suits, church records, newspapers, Bible records and military pension files. See Burned Counties.
Records that survive
These are the record series the Library of Virginia has on microfilm for Buchanan County, with the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps; it doesn't mean every year in between survives.
Land and deeds
- Surveyors' Book1787–1951
- Land Grants1788–1911
- Grantee Index to Real Estate Conveyances1858–1976
- Grantor Index to Real Estate Conveyances1858–1976
- Deed Book1870–1903
- Grantee Index to Deeds1879–1996
- Grantor Index to Deeds1879–1976
Wills
- Will Book1874–1935
- General Index to Heirs or Devisees1886–1976
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Register1885–1977
- Birth Register1886–1896
- Death Register1886–1893
- Index to Marriage Registers, Females1886–1977
- Index to Marriage Registers, Males1886–1977
Tax lists
- Delinquent Land Book1865–1883
Court orders and minutes
- Chancery Order Book1885–1906
- Common Law Order Book1885–1912
- Order Book1885–1903
- General Index to Judgments1917–1977
Bonds and oaths
- Bond Book1885–1902
- Road Overseers' Bonds1923–1924
- Officials' Bonds Book1966–1977
County government and the poor
- Records of the Local Board of Review of Assessments1915–1921
- Board of Supervisors' Order Book1926–1936
See every volume and reel number at the Library of Virginia
Source: Library of Virginia, County and City Records on Microfilm. Reels marked for interlibrary loan can be borrowed through your local library.
Where to find the records
- Buchanan County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the circuit court clerk's office, and any online record search the county offers.
- The circuit court clerk's office
Virginia's deed, will and marriage books are usually kept by the clerk of the circuit court for the county or city, though many older records have been moved to the Library of Virginia. Call before you visit; hours and access to older volumes vary.
- Library of Virginia: Buchanan County records on microfilmfree
Every filmed volume with its years and reel number. Use the reels in Richmond; many can be borrowed through interlibrary loan.
- Library of Virginia: Chancery Records Indexfree
Search equity court suits by name. They're rich in family detail: estate divisions, heirs and land disputes. Many localities' suits are scanned and free to view.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Virginia, Buchanan" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Russell County, Tazewell County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Russell County, Tazewell County
Later formed partly from Buchanan County: Dickenson County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1858, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Start with the deed and will books: they name relatives, neighbors and land. Then try the court order books, which mention almost everyone in the county sooner or later, as witnesses, jurors, road workers or parties to a suit.